Dallas Stars face playoff concern after Roope Hintz setback

This is bigger than one missing forward. Hintz is the center who lets Dallas play fast through the middle and still defend hard on the way back.

Dallas enters April 15 at 49-20-12, locked into a first-round series with Minnesota. That part is settled. The shape of the lineup is not.

Glen Gulutzan said Hintz had "a little setback" after the club first thought he could be ready for the start of the series. That tells you the staff is protecting a playoff piece, not chasing one April night.

Dallas can patch minutes with Sam Steel back, and Jake Oettinger starting in Buffalo helps steady the floor. It does not replace Hintz's speed on retrievals or his penalty-kill value.

You can see the pressure point here in the coach's own words.

Fans can live with a thinner top-six for a game or two. They should be far more nervous if Miro Heiskanen is not driving exits in Game 1.

Heiskanen has 9-54-63 this season, and Gulutzan said the Stars are "very hopeful" he can play in Game 1. That hope matters because Dallas looks like a different team when the blue line can beat pressure cleanly.

If Heiskanen returns, Thomas Harley slides into a better slot and the whole pair structure calms down. If he does not, Dallas asks for too many perfect shifts from Esa Lindell and the support group.

That is why Hintz being out stings, but Heiskanen being ready could still keep this series on Dallas terms. One injury hurts the ceiling. The other changes the team's identity.

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